Word: arabism
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...made U.S. diplomacy appear calcified and reactive. American willingness to talk with the P.L.O. profoundly alters the political landscape of the Middle East in ways not yet clearly outlined but fresh with the potential for progress. The announcement sent a wave of approval through the West European and Arab communities, which have long urged the U.S. to end its increasingly futile code of silence. The move shocked Israel, which now stands alone in rejecting all contact with the P.L.O. With only a few weeks left in office, Ronald Reagan gave George Bush a huge Christmas present: the opportunity to make...
...Arab states long pledged to the P.L.O., the U.S. move vindicated a trend they have encouraged in recent years: greater moderation and realism on the part of Palestinian nationalists. Even George Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh, leaders of two notoriously radical pro-Syrian factions within the P.L.O., hailed the American decision as a triumph for the intifadeh. But the renegade group of Abu Musa issued a veiled threat. "We fully reject the Arafat concessions and will prove our stand practically, in a way that neither Israel nor the United States would expect," said a spokesman in Damascus...
...never out. His organization has been splintered by factionalism and scourged by armies from Jordan to Israel but never destroyed. He has promised his people much but ! never delivered. In 1982 he was drummed out of Lebanon, and just a year ago he was all but ignored at an Arab summit that consigned the Palestinian problem to the dead file. Yet a combination of events and his uncanny talent for survival have pushed him back...
...commitment to cease terrorism was straightforward: "I repeat for the record that we totally and absolutely renounce all forms of terrorism." Arafat also made a significant concession of substance in his Geneva speech to the U.N. He rejected absolutism in favor of "realistic and attainable formulas that settle the ((Arab-Israeli)) issue on the basis of the possible." That is new and welcome from the P.L.O. Specifically, Arafat said the Palestinians would settle for two states in the Holy Land, one Palestinian and one Israeli, borders undefined. Those who do not trust him will recall the words...
...when the King gave up all responsibility for the occupied West Bank. Washington's stubborn holdout in the face of Arafat's peace offensive had bound Uncle Sam in the unaccustomed straitjacket of the spoiler. Shultz's announcement not only ended months of intense criticism from West European and Arab friends but also restored U.S. credibility and influence as an honest broker in the Middle East conflict...